


The Coming Storm

by Anne_Wheeler_Trapeze



Series: The Coming Storm [1]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Confusion, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Marriage Proposal, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Post-Canon, Surprises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:52:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anne_Wheeler_Trapeze/pseuds/Anne_Wheeler_Trapeze
Summary: Anne is trying to propose to Phillip but he won't listen so she goes to Lettie & Charity for help.





	1. News

**Author's Note:**

  * For [philippcarlyle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/philippcarlyle/gifts), [starblessed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starblessed/gifts).



> This is my first Archive work and is beta-d by Olicitydreamer.  
> BTW, this is Lettie's perspective. It's set post-canon. Anne no longer wants to resist but Phillip is doubting his thoughts now. Also, he will struggle with his alcoholism in this story.

"Why do you care what they think of you?" Phillip asked, his voice barely audible.  
I knew this was an intimate moment, that I shouldn't be there but Phillip might need me. He was going to make her angry and Anne in a rage might be a surprise for him.  
"Just no, just no." He wouldn't understand, city toff that he was brought up as. She tried him anyway. "You've never had someone look at you the way your parents looked at me. The way everyone looks at US." The words were like venom. She began to prepare for her performance, not that she needed to. Everything was ready anyway.  
"You know I want you/It's not a secret I try to hide" As she began unwinding the ropes to check the counterweights, Phillip started singing, softly, under his breath. I guessed it was romantic but I couldn't make the words out. "I know you want me/so don't keep saying our hands are tied". Anne was doing aerial checks by now and had retrieved her hoop from the balcony storage box. I knew I had to go now, rather than risk being discovered. I ran back to my dressing room, tripping over a box of props as I went. When I get there, I see my costume, my purple dress with black lace, all ready to change into. Who did this?

"Ladies and Gents, this is the moment you've waited for"  
Adrenaline rushes through me.  
"been searching in the dark, sweat soaking through the floor"  
Pretty much describes how I felt when I realised how being part of the circus made me feel.  
"Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya" Though Phillip was different, and always would be, he was more part of the dysfunctional circus family than he thought. 

*TIME PASS* To much wolf-whistling and catcalling, I ask Phillip for a drink. He blushes and tries to refuse but today, I'm taking no prisoners! "Stop caring about their opinion, city boy. I know you want a whiskey." I don't push the unwritten boundary of his vices very often but it was a tough day at work today and that's always what he says he needs after. I have my reasons too. He's been strange around Anne - their conversation is jerky, brief and awkward, so either they've argued (which wouldn't happen) or there's something else involved.


	2. Chapter 2

At the bar, Phillip has three successive shots. Though I would never admit it, I'm marginally impressed by his restraint. I try him, gently. "What's up with you and Anne?"  
A mumbled grunt that sounds like "nothing".  
I raise my eyebrows. "We've all noticed it - you're not the same."  
A small tear trickles down his cheek. He wipes it away, too quickly for it to be the alcohol. I buy him another shot. Maybe, after this, he'll talk.  
He knocks it back in one. "I keep trying to talk to her b-," he cuts himself short. I heard the end of the sentence but don't push. Not now, I tell myself. There are some boundaries that we don't push. I'll try Anne, see if she can shed light on her side of the problem.

*later (11pm) , in Anne's dressing room*

"Anne, what help do you want?" By her answer, I should be able to infer her feelings on this. This whole issue that everyone steps around, even though it's like an elephant in a room the size of the laundry I worked in before I found my home here.

"Put the hoops in their box and the ropes on the hook." Brisk and practical, just like usual. Anne furrows her brow, trying to puzzle something out.

"Penny for them?" When she responds, asking why I'm still here (I usually go at 10.30), I say that I couldn't leave because of protesters. The  _League of Decency_ and all those shitty people who don't realise that this "fake", this "scandal", this "humbug" is our HOME. The only thing that's ever felt like home to us. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will try to post Sunday nights every week BST + 00.


End file.
